Life for a Life
by EevyLynn
Summary: What if the Dark One vault's price wasn't quite what we thought it was? (featuring Dark!Bae)


Zelena had first gotten a hold of Rumple's dagger shortly after he had been resurrected by his son. The silly boy for some reason didn't seem to realize the obvious the price for raising the Dark One from the dead. How the son of the Dark One couldn't figure out the whole "life for a life" thing was beyond her. Everything came with a price. It wasn't her fault he was just too foolish to remember that.

She just assumed the Dark One's vault had already claimed the idiot boy's body in the process of resurrecting Rumplestiltskin and drug it into the darkness below because by the time she got there, Baelfire was already gone. Rumplestiltskin was seemingly so distracted by the distress caused from losing his son that he didn't even notice her sneak behind him to grab the dagger until it was too late. He must have lost his touch in the time since she was with him because was just lying on the ground behind him while he sobbed pathetically in the arms of the little maid.

She delighted in the feel of the power under her fingers as she held the dagger. She held complete control of one of the most powerful men in all the realms. The same man that she loved more than any other. The same man that rejected her in favor of her sister. For so long, she had yearned for him, so to have him bend to her every whim was intoxicating.

With his, regrettably reluctant, help, Zelena was able to get quite far in her plans to go back in time. So far, that if she had had maybe minutes more, she would have won. She would have succeeded in killing that horrid Snow White's mother before she could ruin Cora's life, and Zelena's by proxy. She would have been brought up as like the princess she should have been. She would have been chosen by Rumplestiltskin in more ways than one.

Unfortunately, her plans for foiled by those self-righteous royals that called themselves heroes with Regina leading the pack. They destroyed her portal, took her magic, and locked her up. Wasn't that just her luck? Zelena was just about to get everything she ever dreamed of, everything she worked for, and it was all ruined just like that.

Regina's little visit to her cell earlier was just icing on the cake. Redemption. That was a pretty thought, but who says Zelena had to follow whatever these so called "heroes" thought was right? Who were they to decide what was right anyway? Who gave them the control of who gets happy endings and how they'd get them? Not to mention, after all she did to them, did they really expect her to believe they would ever trust her? Zelena could admit to herself that she could be a tad trusting and naïve at times, but not even she was that naïve. No, there was no way she'd ever be happy living without magic in this sad little town with people that hated her. She'd been a magic user her entire life. It was a part of her. All she had to do to get her magic back was to get her amulet back, and it's not as though Regina was particularly subtle in where she hid all things magical.

No, it was only a matter of time before she got her magic back. Those hero types were predictable. All she'd have to do is play nice for a while, pretend that she believed their little lies about redemption, and it would only be a matter of time before she'd be able to sneak into Regina's vault and retrieve her amulet. Even if Rumplestiltskin had suspicions, if she played it right, she could very well have the Charmings defending her as strongly as they do Regina.

Until then, she'd play their game until the time was right.

Hearing footsteps walking towards her, Zelena rolled her eyes and said, "Regina? I didn't expect you back so soon."

However, the person that walked around the corner was not who she was expecting. She was confused at first before she realized who it was.

"You're Rumplestiltskin's son!" she gasped. "Baelfire."

She jumped from her cot before continuing, "But you're dead."

"Yeah," he growled softly, "that was your intention wasn't it?"

He steadily walked closer to the bars, an odd gleam in his eyes. He reminded her very much of a predator stalking its prey.

"Well," he said silkily with a smirk equal to Rumplestiltskin's gracing his face, "I guess it's a good thing that intent is meaningless."

She backed further away from the bars as he stopped right in front them.

His voice suddenly changed to a more conversational tone as he lifted his left hand palm up and just started looking at is as though studying it, "You know, I've lived in the Land Without Magic for some time now, and I've found that you can learn the most _interesting_ things here."

Startled at the sudden change in tone, Zelena just continued to stare, afraid that of what would happen if she made any sudden movements.

"For example," he said slowly, raising his other hand as well to mirror his left, "did you know that the human body is comprised of about seventy percent water?"

He continued to look at his hands as he slowly flexed his fingers towards his palm. They began to shake with the strain of magic as Zelena started gasping in pain. She collapsed to the ground with a cry. She felt as though she were being pulled apart from the inside out. Slowly, red tendrils of magic flowed out of every pore of her body. The same red tendrils were more solid as they flowed from her mouth, eyes, nose, and ears. As his fingers neared his palms, more and more flowed from her body. Once he finally closed his fists, her body had lost all fluids and lay there, a shrunken husk of her former self.

"Fascinating," he muttered as he continued studying his hands before looking down at her shriveled body with a smirk.


End file.
